Wonder Woman's Costume As a Site for Feminist Debate

Document generated on 09/30/2021 9:44 p.m. Imaginations Journal of Cross-Cultural Image Studies Revue d’études interculturelles de l’image Wonder Woman’s Costume as a Site for Feminist Debate Jaclyn Marcus Fashion Cultures and Media – Canadian Perspectives Article abstract Cultures et médias de la mode – Perspectives canadiennes In this article, I examine how much of the fierce debate and discourse around Volume 9, Number 2, 2018 Wonder Woman has centred around her costume. While several academics have addressed the relationship between Wonder Woman and feminism, my URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1059166ar article engages with these works to examine the arguments surrounding DOI: https://doi.org/10.17742/IMAGE.FCM.9.2.6 Wonder Woman’s dress, particularly in the context of comic books and graphic novels that feature the character. The article argues that it is Wonder Woman’s apparel, and not her status as a superhero, that is the site of the controversy See table of contents surrounding her persona and role as a feminist figure. Publisher(s) York University ISSN 1918-8439 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this article Marcus, J. (2018). Wonder Woman’s Costume as a Site for Feminist Debate. Imaginations, 9(2), 55–65. https://doi.org/10.17742/IMAGE.FCM.9.2.6 All Rights Reserved ©, 2018 Jaclyn Marcus This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ WONDER WOMAN’S COSTUME AS A SITE FOR FEMINIST DEBATE JACLYN MARCUS Abstract | In this article, I examine how much of the ferce s the frst female superhero to ever re- debate and discourse around Wonder Woman has centred ceive her own comic book, Wonder around her costume. While several academics have addressed Woman has existed in popular culture the relationship between Wonder Woman and feminism, my Afor 75 years. She is typically depicted wearing a article engages with these works to examine the arguments golden tiara, blue star-covered shorts, and a red surrounding Wonder Woman’s dress, particularly in the con- bustier with a golden eagle on the front. She car- text of comic books and graphic novels that feature the charac- ries a golden lasso that, when wrapped around ter. Te article argues that it is Wonder Woman’s apparel, and its victim, has the ability to make them tell the not her status as a superhero, that is the site of the controversy truth, and her golden bracelets can defect bul- surrounding her persona and role as a feminist fgure. lets. According to DC Comics Wonder Woman has “been a feminist icon since her star-span- Résumé | Dans cet article j’examine comment les âpres débats gled intro in 1941” (“Wonder Woman”). Wonder et dialogues suscités par Wonder Woman sont en réalité cen- Woman has superhero strength and speed, but it trés sur son costume. Alors que plusieurs chercheurs se sont is her costume that allows her to be recognizable penchés sur la relation entre Wonder Woman et le féminisme, as an icon in society, the press, and scholarship. mon article utilise leur travaux pour examiner les arguments By the same token, her clothing—its design, concernant le costume de Wonder Woman, en particulier dans ft, length, colouring, and even accessories— le contexte des bandes dessinées et des romans graphiques qui has also been leveraged in these same arenas to mettent en scène ce personnage. L’article défend l’idée que c’est prove why she is or is not a feminist icon (fg- en fait l’habit de Wonder Woman, et non pas son statut de ure 1). Yet why is it that the character can only super héros, qui est au centre de la controverse qui entoure sa be reinvented through her clothing? Moreover, personnalité et son rôle d’image féministe. why have male superheroes not historically undergone the same relentless scrutiny of their clothing and its changes? I will understand the history of Wonder Woman as aligned within the tradition of women, both real and fctional, who have been defned and even restricted through their dress within patriarchal structures, due to the multiple, nuanced meanings ascribed to their appearances. For Wonder Woman, costume is one of the most signifcant aspects of her persona. It is tied not only to recognition of her character, but to questions of morality surrounding her worth as a role model for girls and women. WONDER WOMAN’S COSTUME Wonder Woman’s relationship with feminism the gunshots aimed at her (273). Wonder Wom- has sparked debates on a number of topics: an’s accessories literally defne whether or not these include whether or not Wonder Wom- she may stand as a representative and protec- an should be seen as a feminist role model, tor of other women. Jill Lepore also cites fash- whether she was created for male or female ion’s importance for feminist interpretations enjoyment, and, most recently, wheth- of Wonder Woman’s character in the intro- er she should serve as the United Na- duction of her book, Te Secret History of tion’s Ambassador of the Empower- Wonder Woman: “Wonder Woman isn’t ment of Women and Girls. To com- only an Amazonian princess with ba- bat these controversies, Wonder dass boots. She’s the missing link in Woman has undergone multiple a chain of events that begins with changes, for example, her loss the woman sufrage campaigns of of costume and superpowers the 1910s and ends with the trou- in the late 1960s and her recent bled place of feminism fully a makeover in 2010, which had her century later” (xiii). While a num- wearing long pants and a leather ber of academics have addressed the jacket as opposed to a strapless top relationship between Wonder Wom- and shorts. Julie D. O’Reilly writes an and feminism, in this article I review that, “Central to Wonder Woman’s works by Edward Avery-Natale, Ann legend is the questioning of her sta- Matsuuchi, and Jill Lepore, among others, tus as a hero because she is subject to illustrate how much of this controversy to the approval or disapproval of her and change have been addressed through Amazon mother and sisters” (275). Wonder Woman’s costume. To do so, I Even in her own fctional world, Won- have divided the controversies surround- der Woman has inspired debate and had to ing Wonder Woman’s apparel into sub- prove her worth as a superhero. In the real sections: the creation of Wonder Woman, world, however, Wonder Woman’s worth hypersexual representations of Wonder has been inextricably tied to her costume Woman, her depiction as a consumer, her and its refection of her feminist values. frst rebirth, her second rebirth, and de- pictions of Wonder Woman in the twen- Wonder Woman’s cloth- ty-frst century. As we will Figure 1. Wonder Woman in one variation ing is an inescapable part of her costume. JJ_Dread, Wonder see, it is Wonder Woman’s of her character; her cos- Woman, 11 December 2015, Flickr, www. costume and not her power flickr.com/, accessed 24 October 2018. tume helps to defne who and agency as a superhero she is. Tis is illustrated in that is the site of the debate her frst-ever story arc, “Introducing Wonder surrounding her character and role as a feminist Woman.” As O’Reilly explains, Wonder Wom- fgure. Fashion plays a pivotal role in the recep- an’s fnal trial to prove whether or not she is tion of the Wonder Woman character, partic- “worthy” of “fght[ing] for liberty and freedom ularly regarding her position as a feminist role and all womankind” is a game of “‘bullets and model. bracelets,’” where her gold accessories defect REVUE D’ÉTUDES INTERCULTURELLES DE L’IMAGE JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL IMAGE STUDIES ISSUE 9-2, 2018 · 56 JACLYN MARCUS The Creation of Wonder Woman also wear very little” (Lepore 196). Regardless of her feminist origins in Marston’s ideals, Won- ince her “birth,” Wonder Woman’s costume der Woman had parts of her costume modelled has been central to her character. Tough afer what male superheroes at the time were clothing has long been understood as a wearing. We can also see that her bracelets were Skey infuencer of social identity (see Barry; En- initially one of the least censored aspects of her twistle; and Wilson), for women fashion takes costume, despite Wonder Woman’s later links to on even greater importance. In discussing the bondage leading to criticism of her accessories. impact of fashion on plot and character, Bruzzi Tis account highlights how much detail and and Church Gibson write that “traditionally [it discussion went into each piece of her outft, il- has] been women whose character, identity and lustrating its importance. femininity have been understood through their mode of dress and self-presentation” (116). In Wonder Woman’s connection to fashion can also the case of Wonder Woman and her inventors, be found in her familial history. Lepore explains her costume was one of the frst aspects of her that Wonder Woman’s mother, Hippolyte, “re- character to be developed; nuances of her per- counts for her daughter, Diana [Wonder Wom- sonality and superpowers were defned through an’s alter-ego], the history of the female race,” her clothing.

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